2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA is approving a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Tennessee, through the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) on December 13, 2012. EPA proposed action on this revision on August 16, 2013, and received no adverse comments. The SIP submittal revises the definition of ``Modification'' in Knox County Air Quality Management Regulation Section 13 Definitions. TDEC considers Knox County's SIP revision to be as or more stringent than the Tennessee SIP requirements. EPA is approving the Knox County SIP revision because the State has demonstrated that it is consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

The States of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska and the local agencies of Lincoln-Lancaster County, Nebraska, and the city of Omaha, Nebraska, have submitted updated regulations for delegation of EPA authority for implementation and enforcement of NSPS, NESHAP, and MACT standards. The submissions cover new EPA standards and, in some instances, revisions to standards previously delegated. EPA's review of the pertinent regulations shows that they contain adequate and effective procedures for the implementation and enforcement of these Federal standards. This action informs the public of delegations to the above-mentioned agencies.

Under section 211(o) of the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency is required to set the renewable fuel percentage standards each November for the following year. Today's action proposes the annual percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and renewable fuels that would apply to all motor vehicle gasoline and diesel produced or imported in the year 2014. For cellulosic biofuel, the statute specifies that EPA is to project the volume of production and must base the cellulosic biofuel standard on projected available volume if it is less than the applicable volume set forth in the Act. Today EPA is proposing a cellulosic biofuel volume for 2014 that is below the applicable volume specified in the Act. The statute also provides EPA the discretion to adjust the volumes of advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel under certain conditions. Relying on its Clean Air Act waiver authorities, EPA is proposing to adjust the applicable volumes of advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel to address projected availability of qualifying renewable fuels and limitations in the volume of ethanol that can be consumed in gasoline given practical constraints on the supply of higher ethanol blends to the vehicles that can use them and other limits on ethanol blend levels in gasoline. These adjustments are intended to put the program on a manageable trajectory while supporting growth in renewable fuels over time. Finally, the statute requires EPA to determine the applicable volume of biomass-based diesel to be used in setting annual percentage standards under the renewable fuel standard program for years after 2012. EPA is proposing the applicable volume of biomass-based diesel that would apply in 2014 and 2015. EPA is requesting comment on a variety of alternative approaches and on a range of inputs and methodologies relevant for setting the applicable standards.

This final rule is intended to further the safety of passenger train occupants through both enhancements and additions to FRA's existing requirements for emergency systems on passenger trains. In this final rule, FRA is adding requirements for emergency passage through vestibule and other interior passageway doors and enhancing emergency egress and rescue access signage requirements. FRA is also establishing requirements for low-location emergency exit path markings to assist occupants in reaching and operating emergency exits, particularly under conditions of limited visibility. Further, FRA is adding standards to ensure that emergency lighting systems are provided in all passenger cars, and FRA is enhancing requirements for the survivability of emergency lighting systems in new passenger cars. Finally, FRA is clarifying requirements for participation in debriefing and critique sessions following emergency situations and full-scale simulations.

The Board is adopting a final policy statement on the approach to scenario design for stress testing that will be used in connection with the supervisory and company-run stress tests conducted under the Board's regulations pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act or Act) and the Board's capital plan rule.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is extending the comment period for the proposed rule ``Water Quality Standards Regulatory Clarifications''. EPA is extending the comment period in response to stakeholder requests for a 30-day extension.

This action proposes to modify RNAV route Q-20 in support of the Houston Optimization of Airspace and Procedures in a Metroplex (OAPM) project. This proposed action re-aligns Q-20 to incorporate the FUSCO waypoint (WP) being relocated .48 nautical miles southwest to match the intersection of Jet routes J-15 and J-183.

NMFS announces that the 2013 summer flounder commercial quota allocated to the State of New Jersey has been harvested. Vessels issued a commercial Federal fisheries permit for the summer flounder fishery may not land summer flounder in New Jersey for the remainder of calendar year 2013, unless additional quota becomes available through a transfer from another state. Regulations governing the summer flounder fishery require publication of this notification to advise New Jersey that the quota has been harvested and to advise vessel permit holders and dealer permit holders that no Federal commercial quota is available for landing summer flounder in New Jersey.

This action proposes to establish 14 RNAV Q-routes and modify 4 Q-routes in support of the Optimization of Airspace and Procedures in a Metroplex (OAPM) project. This proposed action is intended to enhance air traffic flow in the vicinity of the Atlanta, GA (ATL) and Charlotte, NC (CLT) Metroplex areas.

This document promulgates Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) final regulations amending the definition of ``spousal resource protection amount'' to reference the Maximum Community Spouse Resource Standard, which is adjusted and published each year by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This change has the immediate effect of increasing the spousal resource protection amount from $89,280 to $115,920, and ensures that the spousal resource protection amount will stay consistent with the comparable protection for the spouses of Medicaid recipients.

These special conditions are issued for the Boeing Model 777- 200, -300, and -300ER series airplanes. These airplanes, as modified by ARINC Aerospace Company, will have novel or unusual design features associated with Class 3 Electronic Flight Bags (EFB) and wireless local area data networks (LAN) associated with the EFB architecture and existing airplane network systems. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

FRA is providing interim guidance on a railroad's use of processor-based signal or train control technology subject to the requirements of 49 CFR part 236, subpart H, in the situation where the railroad has not previously obtained FRA's approval to use the technology, but a different railroad has already received FRA's approval to do so. Under these regulations, any railroad seeking to use signal or train control technology subject to the regulations must first adopt both a Railroad Safety Program Plan and a Product Safety Plan covering the technology that have been approved by FRA. If FRA has already approved the use of a certain processor-based signal or train control technology by one railroad pursuant to that railroad's plans, a different railroad (a third-party railroad) may use as a model the Railroad Safety Program Plan and Product Safety Plan of the railroad that has FRA's approval for use of the technology, and the third-party railroad must submit its own plans and obtain FRA's approval before using the technology. FRA anticipates that there will be some railroad-by-railroad variances that will not be safety-critical, and such variances are required to be specified and are also subject to FRA approval.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of metaldehyde in or on multiple commodities which are identified and discussed later in this document. This regulation additionally removes the established tolerances in or on berry group 13 and strawberry, as the tolerances will be superseded by tolerances established by this action. Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

The Coast Guard is establishing temporary safety zones around the following Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association facilities: The Columbia Grain facility on the Willamette River in Portland, OR, the United Grain Corporation facility on the Columbia River in Vancouver, WA, the Temco Irving facility on the Willamette River in Portland, OR, the Temco Kalama facility on the Columbia River in Kalama, WA, and the Louis Dreyfus Commodities facility on the Willamette River in Portland, OR. These safety zones extend approximately between the navigable channel and the shoreline of the facility described. These safety zones have been established to ensure that on-water protest activities near these facilities do not create hazardous navigation conditions for vessels protesting, transiting in the navigable channel, or attempting to moor at the facilities and that any on-water activities do not create hazardous conditions while grain- shipment vessels are moored at the facilities.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission specifies service obligations of price cap carriers that accept Connect America Phase II model-based support through the state-level commitment process, and addressed how to determine what areas are considered as served by an unsubsidized competitor. Specifically, the Commission sets out how a price cap carrier satisfies the latency, usage allowance, and pricing requirements for Connect America Phase II. This document also addresses how these metrics will apply in determining what areas will be considered as served by an unsubsidized competitor.

In this document, the Commission proposes minor rule changes to incorporate by reference into the Commission's rules and make mandatory the Advanced Television Systems Committee's (ATSC) March 12, 2013 A/85:2013 Recommended Practice (Successor RP), replacing the July 25, 2011 A/85:2011 RP (Current RP), incorporated into the Commission's rules in 2011. The Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act directs the Commission to incorporate by reference and make mandatory ``any successor'' to the ATSC's A/85 Recommended Practice (RP). This document also seeks comment on the appropriate timing for the 2013 Successor RP to replace the 2011 Current RP, and proposes an effective date of one year from the release date of the Report and Order resulting from this proceeding. The 2013 Successor RP applies an improved loudness measurement algorithm to conform to the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) updated BS.1770 measurement algorithm, ``BS.1770-3.''

This document corrects an error in the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) interim final rule that appeared in the Federal Register, which adopted North American Industry Classification System 2012 (NAICS 2012) for small business size standards. This document also removes the entry for NAICS 315192 in its entirety. These corrections do not affect small business size standards.

EPA is proposing to approve the State of North Carolina's April 12, 2013, State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision associated with the currently approved maintenance plan addressing the 1997 8-hour national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for the Greensboro/ Winston-Salem/High Point (Triad) Area. Specifically, North Carolina's revision, including updated modeling, shows that the Triad Area would continue to maintain the 1997 8-hour ozone standard if the currently applicable Federal Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) standard for gasoline of 7.8 pounds per square inch (psi) were modified to 9.0 psi for four portions (Davidson, Forsyth, Guilford and Davie Counties) of the ``Triad Area'' during the high-ozone season. The State has included a technical demonstration with the revision to demonstrate that a less-stringent RVP standard of 9.0 psi in these portions of this area would not interfere with continued maintenance of the 1997 8-hour Ozone NAAQS or any other applicable standard. Approval of this SIP revision is a prerequisite for EPA's consideration of an amendment to the regulations to remove the aforementioned portions of the Triad Area from the list of areas that are currently subject to the Federal 7.8 psi RVP requirements. In addition, the revised on-road mobile and non- road mobile source emissions modeling associated with the requested modification to the RVP standard results in the use of the updated Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES) and NONROAD2008 models which are the most current versions of modeling systems available for these sources. EPA has preliminarily determined that North Carolina's April 12, 2013, SIP revision with respect to the revisions to the modeling and associated technical demonstration associated with the State's request for the removal of the Federal RVP requirements, and with respect to the updated on-road mobile, non-road mobile and area source emissions, is consistent with the applicable provisions of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act). Should EPA decide to remove the subject portions of the Triad Area from those areas subject to the 7.8 psi Federal RVP requirements, such action will occur in a subsequent rulemaking.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the State Highway 4 Drawbridge across Old River, mile 14.8 between Victoria Island and Byron Tract, CA. The deviation is necessary to allow the bridge owner to make critical repairs to the bridge gears. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed-to-navigation position during the deviation period.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) finalizes amendments made to the Common Crop Insurance Regulations, Extra Long Staple Cotton Crop Insurance Provisions to make the Extra Long Staple (ELS) Cotton Crop Insurance Provisions consistent with the Upland Cotton Crop Insurance Provisions and to allow a late planting period. The intended effect of this action is to provide policy changes to better meet the needs of the producers. The changes will be effective for the 2014 and succeeding crop years.

We are notifying the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has received a petition requesting that we amend the Animal Welfare Act regulations to add specific standards for the humane handling, care, treatment, and transportation of all species of bears held in captivity except polar bears, for which there are already standards. We are making this petition available to the public and soliciting comments regarding the petition and any issues raised by the petition that we should take into account as we consider this petition.

The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) is correcting final rules that appeared in the Federal Register of 78 FR 66288, November 5, 2013. The document issued final rules that establish a single protection scheme for tower construction and modification near AM tower arrays and designate ``moment method'' computer modeling as the principal means of determining whether a nearby tower affects an AM radiation pattern. This correction makes no change to the substance of the rules.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Rolls-Royce plc (RR) RB211 Trent 553-61, 553A2-61, 556-61, 556A2-61, 556B-61, 556B2-61, 560-61, and 560A2-61 turbofan engines. This AD requires replacement or repair of the low-pressure (LP) compressor fan blade set before reaching a specified number of flight cycles since new (FCSN) or flight cycles since last leading edge profile blade repair (FCSLR). This AD was prompted by reports of erosion of the leading edge profile of the LP compressor blade set contributing to fan blade flutter. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of the LP compressor blades, which could lead to an uncontained engine failure and damage to the airplane.

This rule establishes, amends, suspends, or revokes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures for operations at certain airports. These regulatory actions are needed because of the adoption of new or revised criteria, or because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System, such as the commissioning of new navigational facilities, adding new obstacles, or changing air traffic requirements. These changes are designed to provide safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.

EPA is approving a request submitted by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) on July 3, 2013, to revise the Illinois state implementation plan (SIP). The submission amends the Illinois Administrative Code (IAC) by updating the definition of ``Volatile organic material (VOM) or Volatile organic compound (VOC)'' to add trans-1,3,3,3-tetra-flouropropene (HFO-1234ze) to the list of compounds excluded from the definition of VOM or VOC. This revision is based on EPA's 2012 rulemaking which added HFO-1234ze to the list of chemical compounds that are excluded from the Federal definition of VOC because of their negligible contribution to the formation of tropospheric ozone.